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Topic: general coverstock / core questions (Read 1224 times)

what are the advantages that asymmetrical balls have over symmetrical besides being able to lay them out more accurately because you would know where the psa is and the they tend to rev up quicker at the breakpoint than a symmetrical ball all things being equal? does this tend to help with the carry percentage? i know that if most people drill a ball with the psa near their track it weakens the reaction of an asym to the point that you may as well have drilled a symmetrical ball.

how can a person tell when the coverstock dominates the core of a ball versus the core dominating the coverstock by observing how a ball reacts? i've always wondered what people mean when they say that one coverstock such as a solid didn't match up with a particular core but a pearl coverstock was perfect with the same core for example.

last but not least, are there advantages to balls with a larger weight block as opposed to the with a smaller weight block when it comes to ball reaction?

In simply very general terms, an asymmetrical core will have a tendency to create the potential to be more violent on the backend--have a quicker change in direction on the backend than a symmetrical cored ball would be(all things being equal). The difference in reaction with a smaller cored ball as opposed to a larger cored ball comes down to core shape and densities as far as differing reactions would go---but as far as the hitting power goes, I have found that larger full sized cores definitely hit harder than smaller cores, in part based on my experiences in the past with the Lane #1 Gemstone(a core basically cut in half with a flip block on top) and the Morich Pioneer( a lower priced asymmetrical core that was noticeably smaller than "Full" sized cores.) There were certain leaves I would get with those 2 balls I would not get with full sized cored balls.

Asymms have a shorter (faster) hook zone than symm balls. So simply put, an asymm will naturally expend its energy faster, especially when it sees friction. The downside is that friction isn't always where you may want it to be. And since asymm cores are typically paired with high end coverstocks, asymms tend to burn off a lot of energy before making it to the back part of the lane, so in some cases you can see very smooth and/or early reactions from asymms on patterns/houses with more friction simply because they are losing energy quickly. In a perfect world, an asymm would always have a much more explosive backend reaction than a symm ball, but in many cases, a symm ball can be more continuous and stronger on the backend because its able to retain energy further down the lane. The true benefit of a big asymm ball is the ability to cover boards and use that short hook zone when there ISN'T a lot of friction and you need to create motion. And this is likely why you see asymm cores paired with high end covers, because the manufacturer wants to create hook, and majority of customers want to buy hook. This is also why the majority of balls designed for dry and medium lanes are symmetrical cores because they have a longer hook zone, burning off energy slower, making the ball less responsive to early friction.

Asymms have a shorter (faster) hook zone than symm balls. So simply put, an asymm will naturally expend its energy faster, especially when it sees friction. The downside is that friction isn't always where you may want it to be. And since asymm cores are typically paired with high end coverstocks, asymms tend to burn off a lot of energy before making it to the back part of the lane, so in some cases you can see very smooth and/or early reactions from asymms on patterns/houses with more friction simply because they are losing energy quickly. In a perfect world, an asymm would always have a much more explosive backend reaction than a symm ball, but in many cases, a symm ball can be more continuous and stronger on the backend because its able to retain energy further down the lane. The true benefit of a big asymm ball is the ability to cover boards and use that short hook zone when there ISN'T a lot of friction and you need to create motion. And this is likely why you see asymm cores paired with high end covers, because the manufacturer wants to create hook, and majority of customers want to buy hook. This is also why the majority of balls designed for dry and medium lanes are symmetrical cores because they have a longer hook zone, burning off energy slower, making the ball less responsive to early friction.

very spot on! I'll take it a step further and say don't dismiss the layout options on an Asym. You can basically control more of what you want the ball to do and have a better idea of the PSA. Strengthening or weakening it to your desire and adjusting surfaces as needed.

thanks for the replies guys! one thing that i'm trying to learn is this: i've seen and read reviews online that the reviewers says that you can tell when the core of a ball stands up or turns over. i can see this on patterns that have a defined breakpoint but how can i tell whether if the core is the bigger factor or the coverstock is?

the only recent example that i know of where the coverstock of a ball wasn't strong enough for the core is the code red. i've heard many people say that it had a problem turning the corner fast enough when playing an inside angle that it couldn't take out the corner pins and this was because the r2s coverstock wasn't strong enough to take full advantage of the strong core. i saw this for myself when i had one.